MEETING OF THE FYLDE COAST TRUST SAFEGUARDING BOARD

Meeting No. 27

Date: Tuesday 08th October 2019 Venue: Unity Academy Time: 4.00pm

Present: Dr David Sanders (Chair) Ms Janette Webster (Designated Safeguarding Lead, Armfield Academy) Ms Alison McEwan (Safeguarding Governor, Armfield Academy) Ms Jenny Campbell (Safeguarding Governor, Aspire Academy) Ms Jennifer Morgan (Designated Safeguarding Lead, Garstang Community Academy) Mr Peter Murphy (Safeguarding Governor, Garstang Community Academy) Ms Helen Piggott (Designated Safeguarding Lead, Gateway Academy) Ms Linda Roberts (Safeguarding Governor, Blackpool Gateway Academy) Ms Holly Wood (Designated Safeguarding Lead, Hambleton Academy) Ms Jane Walpole (Designated Safeguarding Lead, Mereside ) Ms Nicola Anderson (Designated Safeguarding Person, Unity Academy) Ms Susan Burrows (Safeguarding Governor, Westcliff Primary Academy) Ms Sue Collins (Designated Safeguarding Lead, Westminster Primary Academy) Mr Tim Craven (Designated Safeguarding Person, Blackpool Sixth Form College) Ms Sue Fox (Designated Safeguarding Person, ) Mr Dave Taylor (Designated Safeguarding Lead, High School) Ms Pamela Birch (FCAT Deputy CEO) Ms Helen Livsey (FCAT Governance Administrator)

Apologies: Ms Sian Rawson (Designated Safeguarding Lead, Aspire Academy) Ms Sue Robinson (Designated Safeguarding Lead, Blackpool Gateway Academy) Ms Gill Smith (Designated Safeguarding Lead, Montgomery Academy) Mr Simon Brennand (FCAT Safeguarding Lead, DSL Unity Academy) Ms Gail Yeadon (Designated Safeguarding Lead, Blackpool Sixth Form College) Mr Tony Nicholson (FCAT CEO)

Action 1. Welcome 1.1 All were welcomed to the meeting and introductions were made. 1.2 Apologies for absence were noted.

2. Declaration of interest There were no declarations of interest to note.

3. Student Perspective The FCAT Safeguarding Board welcomed four Year 11 students from Unity Academy to the meeting. They provided the following feedback on safeguarding issues pertinent to themselves and their peers:  Students were disappointed with the recent Blackpool Gazette article relating to an allegation of bullying within Year 11. They felt the article was one sided and from a parental perspective, with evidence taken out of context. All

Page 1 of 6 HL/00SGB/mins081019 Action students felt they were a very supportive and inclusive year group and were saddened to read the article and online comments relating to this. Following advice from the academy, students had been asked to not comment on the article online, which they had respected, but felt frustrated at not being heard.  There had been numerous safeguarding concerns relating to safety within Blackpool town centre. This specifically related to the fireworks event. A student provided anecdotal feedback regarding her experience of feeling unsafe at the fireworks and wanting to take refuge in McDonalds behind Coral Island, as a safe space. However, there were bouncers on the door who were not allowing anyone in under 18 without an adult. There were several teenagers smoking cannabis outside Coral Island and limited police presence. The student explained that she felt unsafe around her peers and in the environment.  Students usually felt comfortable and safe when using buses, but they would put their headphones in to avoid having to make conversation with others using the service. Some students preferred to use the tram system instead of the buses, although there had been an incident of a man carrying a knife on the tram. It was stated that the tram conductor asked the man to stop swearing but did not ask him to leave the tram. As he was getting off at the same stop as the student, they decided to remain on the tram until the next stop in an effort to safeguard themselves.  In relation to knife crime, the students were not aware of anyone bringing knives into Unity Academy. Students did hear of students in other schools carrying knives and these would always be reported to Unity Academy staff, who would contact the schools in question to pass on the information.

Questions to students Asked if they felt there were any bullying issues within their cohort, the students explained that there were systems in place within the academy and always a member of staff to talk to if there were any issues, although they were unaware of any serious bullying incidents taking place. They suggested that students perhaps lacked confidence to approach a member of staff to discuss their concerns and therefore, PSHE work was taking place to improve student confidence and knowledge of who they can turn to.

Querying if there were any online bullying issues they were aware of taking place outside of academy hours, they explained that there were always “keyboard warriors” and anonymity online made people feel confident. This was being addressed by the academy, to support students to stop and think before they posted comments online. They suggested ensuring young people were aware of the consequences of their actions was essential in driving forward any meaningful change.

Recognising that the students were upset and felt passionately about the recent newspaper article, the Board asked what they would like to see the Safeguarding Board do to assist with this. They stated that they would like to produce their own newspaper article explaining how safe and happy they felt they were within the academy and the work being done going forward to increase the confidence and awareness of who students can approach with any issues.

Students were reminded that bullying was a very personal experience and those feelings would be very real to the victim. They were reassured that the Trust had taken over dealing with the issue but that their views of the one-sided newspaper

Page 2 of 6 HL/00SGB/mins081019 Action article were understood.

The Chair surmised that the students had eloquently highlighted that they felt overwhelmingly safe at school, but less so out in the community, particularly in Blackpool town centre and somewhat on Blackpool Transport.

The Chair explained that the members of the Safeguarding Board would consider the points raised to identify any actions they might be able to influence and would provide feedback to them as soon as possible.

The Chair thanked the students for their time and they left the meeting at this point.

4. Minutes of the meeting held on 20th June 2019 and any matters arising: Members agreed the minutes of the meeting were accurate and the following matters discussed: 4.1 Invitation to Diane Booth Diane Booth (Director of Children’s Services, ) would be invited SB/Clerk to attend the November meeting.

4.2 Invitation to the Police The new Police Task Force would be invited to attend the February meeting. SB/Clerk

4.3 Corridors at Aspire Academy It had been acknowledged that the academy was not yet at full capacity yet it was already experiencing concerns with regards to traffic on the corridors. Previously it had been agreed to write a letter to the Secretary of State to highlight the design flaw in the corridor widths, despite the fact they meet regulation. Following the Chair’s discussions with the FCAT CEO, it was decided that the Chair would Chair pursue this via different avenues. In the medium term, there were plans to build a small unit at Aspire Academy, which could be used to house Year 7 students for the first half term of the academic year to assist in transition. This would then be used by Year 11 for the remainder of the year, which would relieve some of the congestion on the corridors.

5. Student Perspective: Implications for the FCAT Safeguarding Board A discussion on the issues raised by students earlier in the meeting took place with the following agreed:  The students had a positive perception of the academy and clearly felt comfortable and safe in the environment.  In relation to a newspaper article from the student’s perspective, it was agreed that the FCAT Safeguarding Lead would follow this up if it was deemed SB appropriate.  The Chair agreed to discuss the tram and knife incident with Blackpool Transport at his meeting with them in the coming weeks. The student was Chair right to not confront the individual but it was felt more could be implemented to support young people when out in the community.  It was discussed that National Rail had a text service, to report any incidents taking place and the police would meet the train at a station to deal with the issues. It was suggested that Blackpool Transport and Blackpool Police could Chair collaborate to create a similar service.  Members were concerned that police did not appear to be dispersing a large group of teenagers who were smoking cannabis outside Coral

Page 3 of 6 HL/00SGB/mins081019 Action Island/McDonalds, particularly when the fireworks events had a historical reputation for attracting inappropriate behaviour. This would be discussed SB further with the police task force via Mr Brennand.  The Board could understand McDonald’s perspective for not allowing anyone under 18 years old into the restaurant without an adult, although, they were also disappointed that a young person could not seek refuge from a situation they were uncomfortable in and feeling vulnerable.  It was agreed that it was essential the students knew how to keep safe and stay safe. There was an element of innocence communicated from the students, in believing they should be able to go anywhere they wanted to. They did need to be aware that there were places to avoid, which even adults choose to stay away from.  Unity Academy would continue to implement its “keyboard warrior” work and NA/SB/ would share the impact of this at the meeting in February. Agenda

The Chair summarised that there were messages to be taken forward to the police, Local Authority and Blackpool Transport and the Chair agreed to take these conversations forward.

6. Children’s Services Referrals Kara Haskayne (Principal Social Worker, Blackpool Council) was due to attend the meeting to receive feedback relating to the use of the MASH/MARF and to provide any further updates. Unfortunately, apologies had been received and therefore she would be invited to attend another meeting later in the year.

Members of the Board noted that they had submitted a small number of MARF’s without any issues, which was pleasing to hear.

7. Review membership, terms of reference and development of action plans for 2019/20 Membership was agreed. All were asked to let the Clerk know of any changes that All were required to be made.

The terms of reference were agreed. It was acknowledged that the point “to Agenda monitor staff training” had not been accomplished in previous years and it was agreed this would be added as an agenda item for this academic year.

The action plan for 2019/20 was discussed in detail. The Board were pleased to note the progress made in relation to road safety at a number of FCAT academies and thanked the Chair for his work in encouraging this forward.

It was agreed that a review of training should be included on the action plan, with Clerk Mr Brennand as the lead and monitored by the Board. The Clerk agreed to include this.

8. Student Engagement Conversations were held regarding the engagement of students at the meetings across the year and it was recognised that Primary pupils did not have as much of an opportunity as their secondary counterparts, in regards to expressing their Safeguarding concerns.

It was agreed that Primary Conference would be a good opportunity to get the SB feedback of these students and the FCAT Safeguarding Lead would look into this.

Page 4 of 6 HL/00SGB/mins081019 Action 9. Operation Encompass Discussions were held around the table discussing the implementation of Operation Encompass.

Members agreed that they were still receiving significantly more PVP’s than Encompass notifications and therefore it was suspected it was being rolled out slowly rather than a full switch to the new system. It was agreed that those that had received Encompass referrals were relevant and were received almost immediately after the event and was pertinent to the day.

It was recognised that County Council had one named individual to deal with Safeguarding concerns and it was queried if this was the same for Blackpool Council. The Chair agreed to continue these discussions with Mr Chair/SB Brennand.

10. Student Conference The Primary Student Conference was held at Blackpool Sixth Form College on 29th June 2019 and was a successful event.

The dates for the Student Conference this academic year would be:

Secondary: 23rd April 2020 at Lancaster University

Primary: 26th June 2020 at BSFC

Unfortunately, the date of the Primary conference clashed with Hambleton’s INSET day, meaning they would not be able to attend for a second year. The TC/SB/ Chair requested an alternative date be identified and the issues communicated to Clerk Mr Brennand. The Clerk agreed to complete this with Mr Craven.

A small number of volunteers were agreed to assist in the arranging if each event:

Secondary: Nicola Anderson and Gill Smith

Primary: Nicola Anderson, Sue Collins and Jane Walpole

11. Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) Annex H detailed the list of substantive changes for reference, which the Board noted.

12. Peer Review Peer reviews were received from Garstang Community Academy. Confirmation was received that the reviews at Blackpool Gateway Academy and Westminster Primary Academy had taken place and the paperwork for these would be shared at the next meeting.

The new peer review process for 2019/20 was discussed and a schedule of reviews was agreed:

Autumn Term Hambleton Primary Academy – Gill Smith to lead, Jane Walpole to assist Mereside Primary School – Sue Collins to lead, Helen Piggott to assist

Page 5 of 6 HL/00SGB/mins081019 Action Spring Term Unity Academy – Gail Yeadon to lead, David Taylor to assist Hodgson Academy – Simon Brennand to lead, Jennifer Morgan to assist

All leads were asked to contact the DSL at the academies agreed, to arrange Leads/ suitable dates for the reviews. DSL’s

13. Review of Children in Need (updated 17th June 2019) The document was noted.

14. Recent Safeguarding Case Study A case study was provided by Unity Academy detailing a recent safeguarding concern which highlighted the difficulties faced by the academy when a student had been placed on bail with no conditions, following an allegation of sexual assault by another student.

All agreed that the academy had managed to remain impartial, non-judgemental and supportive to both parties involved and had completed necessary risk assessments and implemented appropriate changes. The lack of clarity and support from the police, court and outside agencies was woeful in very difficult circumstances.

15. National, Regional and Local Developments The Chair highlighted the following developments:  Lancashire Safeguarding Board was providing a series of courses in relation to safer internet use this month, with repeats taking place in February 2020. A positive experience was usually reported from these courses.  SELMA (Social and Emotional Learning for Mutual Awareness) focused on online hate and how to deal with this issue. There was a podcast available from July 2019 which was appropriate and worth a listen.  The development of local safeguarding children’s boards was still ongoing.  The NSPCC has created an article regarding safeguarding at out of school activities, including DBS clearances for parent helpers.

16. New Risks There were no new risks identified at this meeting.

17. Date of next meeting

Thursday 21st November 2019, Mereside Primary School, 4.00pm

Tuesday 11th February 2020, BSFC, 4.00pm

Tuesday 24th March 2020, Hodgson Academy, 4.00pm

Thursday 18th June 2020, Armfield Academy, 4.00pm

Signed: ______(Chair)

Date: ______

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